Abstract

The usual monthly evening meeting of the Society was held at the
Museum on Monday, the 10th of October; His Honor Mr. Justice Dobson,
V.P. , in the chair.
Mr. John Hamilton, who had previously been nominated by the
Council, was balloted for, and declared duly elected as a Fellow of the
Society.
The attention of the meeting was called to a donation of books, from the
library of the late Dr. E. S. Hall, received from the representatives of
that gentleman, and comprisiug about 130 bound volumes, together
with a large number of official blue books, reports, pamphlets, etc.
A paper by Mr. S. H. Wintle on "The Scamander Goldfield" was read
in the absence of the author, by Mr. Stephens.
The Chairman announced the discovery, on the West Coast, of a fern, new to the flora of Tasmania, in reference to which he read the following
extract from a letter, received by him from Baron von
Mueller:—"The fern of which you sent a small fragment is Aspidium hispidum of Swartz. As you rightly surmised it is new for Tasmania,
though it does not show itself now unexpectedly, inasmuch as this fern
has been found in two places of the colony of Victoria. For nearly half a
century this Aspidium had not been noticed outside of New Zealand, but
it has in later years also been gathered in Mauritius."

In 1843 the Horticultural and Botanical Society of Van Diemen's Land was founded and became the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land for Horticulture, Botany, and the Advancement of Science in 1844. In 1855 its name changed to Royal Society of Tasmania for Horticulture, Botany, and the Advancement of Science. In 1911 the name was shortened to Royal Society of Tasmania.